Page 39 of No Going Back

Sean wanted to hop on the first plane and track down Hawley. Find out what the man was planning and stop him.

That would work if Hawley stayed put, but Sean’s gut told him the man would be long gone by the time he arrived. It also told him the scenario all of them liked the least was the one that was happening. Prince Hawley had found out where Branna was, and he was heading to Vermont.

Branna leaned into his shoulder. “I’m going to guess he knows where I am. And that he’s coming here.”

Sean felt her trembling and tightened his arm around her. “He’s not getting to you.”

Through the phone, Marcus agreed. “Sean’s right, Branna. I didn’t give you this information to scare you, but you need to be prepared.”

“I’m not going to stay here and put everyone here at risk. He’s already killed at least one person and burned down at least one building. I don’t believe either action was his first. If I leave, he won’t be a danger to Phail.”

Sean squeezed her because her body was shaking. “If necessary, we can leave and go without telling anyone where. But with a warrant out for him, he can’t get on a plane. He has to drive. I’m guessing he’s not the type to rough it and drive straight through like we did. That gives us some time to decide our next steps.”

Graham spoke up. “We don’t know the story and who this Prince guy is, but you have lots of options. You don’t need to run.”

Aisling nodded. “Along with everyone right here, there’s the rest of the team from Midnight Security. There’s also the property itself. It’s a two-mile hike in from the road, and there are security measures in place. This might be a great time for the two of you to come out and stay with the team for the next little while.”

Branna’s eyes widened. “You don’t even know me. Or why this man is after me.”

Graham shrugged. “We’ve taken down walls together. What else do we need to know?”

Aisling laughed. “You obviously know Troy and Marcus. If you’re their friends, you’re our friends, too.”

Marcus spoke again. “Troy, do you have any pay-as-you-go phones in stock? Branna should have one on her at all times, and I don’t think she should turn on her own phone. It’s doubtful they’ve put a tracking device on it, but let’s not take a chance.”

Troy nodded and added. “If you want, I can take your phone apart and find out if there’s been anything added to the case or to the phone’s programming.”

Branna nodded. “Thanks. I’ll grab it for you. I haven’t turned it on since we listened to the videos the other night.” She patted Sean’s arm and moved to get the phone.

Sean wanted to follow her down the hallway. He didn’t want her out of his sight. Instead, he blew out a breath. “What do you think we should do?”

Marcus replied immediately. “I think it’s best if you stay here in Phail. You haven’t met all the people at Midnight Lake yet, but they’re exactly the people we want at our back.”

Good to hear.

Branna returned with her phone and passed it to Troy. “I took out the battery when I turned it off.”

Troy grinned at her. “Good job. Shouldn’t take me too long to check it out once I’m back home, although if someone hacked into your email or data remotely, I don’t know if I’ll be able to tell.”

Branna nodded and Sean hated the way the weight had settled back on her.

After hanging up with Marcus, they finished the demo and cleaned the rooms. The order of supplies wouldn’t arrive until the day after tomorrow, so they planned to meet up again then.

The others waved off Sean’s offer of food, and soon it was the two of them alone with Jabba, who watched his little buddy drive away.

When the dog wandered off to flop on the floor for a nap, Branna moved to pull the curtains closed. At least most of the windows had curtains, even if they were hideous floral things from decades ago.

Branna still wasn’t speaking much and had said next to nothing since Marcus’s call. Earlier in the day, she’d been lighter and happier, making friends and having fun. Now that asshole had made everything worse.

Branna turned to him. “I think I’m going to need to leave. I can’t put these people in danger by being here. Maybe we should go into town in the morning, meet some people, and make a fuss about heading out. That way, when Prince’s herd ask questions, they’ll find some answers and leave.”

Sean ran his hands up and down her arms. “Not a bad plan, but I don’t want to leave. Do you?”

Her eyes sparkled with moisture, but she blinked the tears away. “No. But I can’t be that selfish. I can’t put people in danger because I like them.”

He grinned at that. “It all sounds like a movie plot, but I don’t think we’re endangering anyone. Hawley is having a tantrum because you foiled his plans. You not only didn’t give in to his demands, but you got away from his thugs, and you worked around the fact that he’s got some cops in his pocket to get a warrant put out for his arrest.”

Her eyes lightened a bit at that. “We did most of that, not me.”

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